Garment shape maintaining device



G. L. ANDERSON- GARMENT SHAPE MAINTAINING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-ZFiled D60. 5, 1947 INVENTOR. GLENN L. ANDERSON g ppwsu ll!" l'ln'llll'2' I'lllilll'lll'l'llll ll Z ATTORNlY vAugt23, 1949. e. L. ANDERSONGARIENI' SHAPE MAINTAINING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D60. 5, 1947 NWi INVENTORQ GLENN L. ANDERSON.

A T TOP/Vi Y Patented Aug. 23, 1949 GARMENT snare MAINTAINING DEVICEGlenn L. Anderson, University Heights, Ohio Application December 5,1947, Serial No. 789,905 4 Claims. 101423 83) This invention relates toa device adapted to be removably associated with a laundered garment formaintaining its shape, whereby crushing or distortion of portions of thegarment, due

either to handling thereofor when wrapped or enclosed in a container, iseliminated; more par ticularly the device is adapted to be related to orassociated with a collar attached to a garment and adjacent portions ofthe latter.

The collars on this type of garment, when laundered, do not havsufllcient stiffness to maintain their trim and unique appearance, whenhandled under ordinary or other circumstances. In many instances, starchis purposely omitted, in the laundering process, so that whateverstiflness is or may be present is due to the connection of the innermember of the collar to the garment neck band. In all these instances,when the laundered garment is packaged (wrapped or boxed) or the packagecontains two or more of these garments and/or other wearing apparel, thecollars become crushed or distorted, due to wrapping and/or handling, sothat the user is unable to wear the garment or is highly embarrassed ifthe garment is worn. It follows that the launderer or cleaner is facedwith a serious problem to avoid complaints, which would obviously ariseunder these conditions. To meet this problem, launderers and cleanershave found it necessary, after the garment is laundered, to associate aremovable support or device within the collar, but all supports ordevices for attached collars, of which I have knowledge, have been foundto be unsatisfactory for the reasons that special care had to beexercised by the worker to properly position each support within thecollar and in order to facilitate the insertion of these supports and tominimize the cost, they consisted of an elongated narrow strip formed ofthin cardboard and hence unduly flexible and readily bent so as torequire careful handling and was therefore inadequate to resist pressureon the collar. As no provision was made for inter-connecting the stripto the collar and because of its high flexibility, the frictionalengagement of the strip with the collar material was insuflicient tohold them in place incident to ordinary handling of the garment orpackage.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved shape maintainingdevice or support for the attached collar of a garment, the devicehaving lateral members adapted to be so connected to the garment thatdisplacement of the device relative to the collar is eliminated.

, 2 Another object of the invention is to provide an improved collarsupporting device which lends itself to quick and ready insertion orpositioning in relation to the collar of a garment and inter- I lockingrelation with other portions of the garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device of thischaracter having a collar engaging wall and laterally extending memberswhich interconnect the device tothe garment to prevent its displacement,spacedly support the front and back of the garment and maintain thecollar elevated relative to the back of the garment to preventdistortion of the front outer portions of the collar.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved reinforcingdevice for the collar on a garment, formed from relatively thin sheetcellulose stock and fabricated at low cost and adapted to be removablyinterlocked to portions of the garment to prevent displacement of thedevice.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved reinforcingdevice for the collar of a garment consisting of an elongated stripformed from relatively thin sheet cellulose stock and having wingsadapted to be positioned within the body portion of the garment and awall adapted to be flexed relative to the wings and positioned withinthe garment collar to prevent crushing or distortion of the latter.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart to which my invention relates from the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein I Fig. 1 is a planview showing a garment and shape maintaining device embodying myinvention in position.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4,respectively, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the device.

Fig. 6 is a plan view.

Fig. 'l is an end view.

In the drawings, A indicates a garment adapted to be worn by either sexand provided with a collar B consisting of an outer member I: and aninner member 0 suitably attached to the neck band a of the garment A.Fig. 1 shows the garment-A in laundered condition with a stifiner Cbetween the folds thereof and a device, indicated as an entirety at I,associated with collar B and adjacent portions of the garment andadapted to reinforce or maintain them in shape, whereby crushing ordistortion of the 'mum.

' a substantial distance to either side of the attachable ends of thecollar member 0. While the device i may be of a length to extendentlrely or approximately entirely around the collar member 0, itslength is preferably somewhat greater than one-half the circumference ofthe collar member 0 to readily accommodate the device to collars ofvarious sizes and to facilitate the labor of positioning the device, aswell as to minimize the amount of material required for each strip,whereby the cost is reduced to a mini- 2 indicates slots formed in thestrip l extending inwardly from one edge la thereof (that is, its loweredge when the strip or band is positioned in the garment A) extendingtoward the other edge and inwardly in converging relation, preferablysymmetrical to an imaginary center midway the ends of the strip, theinner ends 2a of the slots 2 terminating in spaced relation equaldistances from the edge la. By preference the outer ends of the slots 2are disposed inwardly of the outer ends of the strip I. In thisarrangement of the slots 2 I provide wings 3 below the slots 2,integrally connected at their inner ends to the central section 4 of thestrip and a continuous wall 5 integral with the section 4 and extendingfrom end to end of the strip above and outwardly of the slots, the endportions 5a of the wall 5 having the full width of the strip and henceapproximating the heighth of the collar B. In placing the strip inposition as shown in Fig. 1, the wall 5 is initially pressed by theoperator into engagement with the front and side portions of the collarmember 0 and substantially simultaneously the front portion of thecollar and shirt front are slightly lifted to raise the front of thegarment relative to its back; this operation serves to flex the section'4 and the wall 5 so that the latter lie in substantially concentricrelation to the front portion of the collar member 0, at and along thesides thereof extending circumferentially in opposite directions fromthe ends 0', whereas the wings 3 being free, remain in extended verticalposition and hence are moved into the garment under the raised frontthereof, to space the latter from the back and fixedly relate thesection 4 and wall 5 to the collar member 0. As the wings 3 are disposedvertically and their upper edges are inclined downwardly and outwardly,the front of the garment, adjacent the collar ends 0' and outwardlytherefrom is supported in spaced relation to the back of the garment andmaintain the front portion of the collar in elevated position,. so thatdanger of the tips and outer end portions of the collar member b beingdistorted is eliminated. In this form of construction, with the wings 3positioned between the front and back of the garment A, the strip l isnor from flat sheet,-thin material and may be stacked face-to-face forshipment, the cost of the material, its fabrication and shipment arereduced to a minimum.

It will be observed that the device I is positioned by a singleoperation and that no portion thereof has to be bent over an adjacentpart of the collar or garment in order to effect an interlock therewith.Hence, the device lends itself for easy installation, to reduce laborcosts, as well as removal by the user.

As the back of the garment A engages face-toface with the stiifener C, asubstantially rigid support is provided for the wings 3.

What I claim is:

1. A garment shape maintaining device consisting of an elongated stripof flexible material interlocked thereto to prevent displacement offormed with slots extending inwardly from the lower edge thereof inconverging relation toward the intermediate portion of the strip, thatportion of the strip above and outwardly of said slots fitting withinand in engagement with the inner wall of the collar of a garment andthose portions of the strip below said slots extending outwardly fromthe opposite sides of the intermediate portion of the strip andverticall positioned between the back and front of the earment andtransversely thereof and at opposite sides of the attachable ends of thecollar.

2. A garment shape maintaining device consisting of an elongated stripof flexible material formed with slots extending inwardly from the loweredge of said strip inwardly of its opposite ends and in convergingrelation toward the intermediate portion of said strip and terminatingat their inner ends in spaced relation, that'portion of the strip aboveand outwardly of said slots fitting within and in engagement with theinner wall of the collar of a garment and those portions .of the stripbelow said slots extending outwardly from the opposite sides of theintermediate portion of the strip and vertically positioned between theback and front of the garment and transversely thereof and at oppositesides of the attachable ends of the collar, the opposite end portions ofthe strip having a width substantially equal to the heighth of thecollar.

3. A garment shape maintained device consisting of an elongated strip offlexible material formed with slots extending inwardly from the loweredge thereof and in converging relation toward the intermediate portionof said strip, the inner ends of said slots being spacedly related, thatportion of the strip above and outwardly of said slots and theintermediate portion of the strip below the inner ends of said slotsbeing positioned within and in engagement with the inner wall of thecollar of a garment and thos portions of the strip below said slotsextending laterally from said intermediate portion in oppositedirections and vertically positioned between the back and front of thegarment at opposite sides of the attachable ends of the collar, theflexing of said strip, when the latter is positioned within the collar,serving to maintain the vertically positioned portions substantiallytransversely of the garment.

4. A device for maintaining the shape of .a collar on a launderedgarment formed of flexible material and consisting 'of an elongatedstrip having a width substantially equal to the heighth of the collarand formed with elongated slots extending inwardly from one edge of thestrip in converging relation, the inner ends of the slots terminating inspaced relation to form an inter- 5 mediate section between. and belowsaid ends, a wall above said ends havinglateral portions extendingoutwardly of said slot end in opposite directions and wings extendinglaterally from either side 01' said intermediate section outwardly andpositioned vertically within and transversely of the garment between thefront and back thereof and adjacent to the collar and at opposite sidesof the attachable ends of the latter, said intermediate section and wallbeing positioned within the collar and flexed into engagement with thefront and opposite contiguous side portions thereof and said wings, dueto flexing of said wall and intermediate section, being automatciallymov- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileoi thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name mu Burton July 6, 1943

